Lights Out
by Princess Pinky
Summary: Ricky and Adrian prepare to have a romantic night in, only to be interrupted by an unexpected change of plans.


**A/N: **In response to how much I despised the Ramy kiss last episode, I'm writing another Radrian fic. It was inspired by the snow storm in my neighborhood on Sunday.

_**Lights Out**_

Adrian stood at the stove with one hand on the silver handle of a cooking pot and the other wrapped around a plastic container filled with golden kernels. She tipped the container, filling the pot a fourth of the way full, then swapped the jar of kernels for a bottle of dark orange oil, butter flavored to imitate the unique taste of theater popcorn. Without using a measuring spoon, she roughly estimated about four tablespoons and then added a few extra swigs for flavor. As she set the oil down, she moved the opposite hand from the handle of the pot to the clear lid seated on the counter and slid it onto the pan. She pursed her lips excitedly as she reached down to turn up the heat and while her fingers locked onto the temperature gauge, a pair of hands slid around her waist and connected like a deadbolt lock on her stomach.

With a smirk, Adrian slid her fingers to slide across the knuckles of the white hands pressed to her belly. She turned her head far enough to the left until she couldn't turn it anymore to look over her shoulder and met Ricky's bright eyes looking back at her. As their lips met, the first kernel popped. Their lips lingered together as four more kernels flowered into fluffy yellow finger food.

Ricky maneuvered his hands to Adrian's well toned hips and rotated her to face him. His hands traveled up her torso, along the swell of her bust, across her smooth neck, and captured her face in an embrace that made Adrian temporarily think she was Scarlett O'Hara under Rhett Butler's spell.

"_Mmmm,"_ she moaned into his lips, silently wondering if Ricky could hear the way her heart was pounding. It was almost deafening within her own ears.

"We could always forgo the movie," he suggested, his voice hot and tangy against the supple skin of her ear.

The faint feel of his teeth against her earlobe – for only a half a second at best, making her briefly wonder if she'd imagined it – made her legs feel like the spurts of water from a fountain, about to crash to the ground. Despite her fleeting thoughts, she managed to curve her hand around Ricky's back and roughly grab the back of pants with her manicured hand, promptly closing the distance between their hot bodies. _"Not a chance!" _she rasped, keeping her shiny lips just centimeters from his so as to only allow her humid breath to kiss his lips.

Just then, a collective whir ran through the house and everything went black. In the darkness, a few kernels continued to pop from the heat still entrapped in the pot.

Ricky blinked, attempting to adjust his eyes to the darkness, but it was just too black. He felt his way along Adrian's bare arm until he found her hand and entwined their fingers. "Where's your cell phone?"

"Dead," she replied, shuffling her feet in the darkness. "So do you think someone's trying to break in or do you think it affected the whole block?"

"Dunno." Still clutching his girlfriend's hand, making sure to keep her behind him, he held out his hand and began to lead her through the kitchen to the window, where he pulled back the curtain. He felt Adrian's hair brush his face as they both leaned towards the cold glass, discovering only a black neighborhood block outside.

"Well it's not just us and it's not storming…"

"Downed power line?"

"Maybe."

Ricky pulled the curtain back and turned, reaching his free hand until he touched the side of Adrian's hair and moved it via memory until it was resting along Adrian's jaw line. "Well," he grinned in the darkness, "I guess we can't watch that movie now, can we?"

"Unfortunately that's not going to help your cause." She pressed her hand to Ricky's, absorbing the warmth from his palm and fingers into her cheek. She closed her eyes in the cover of the blackness, relishing the feeling of his flesh on hers. "Come on," she urged, suddenly tugging on their coupled hands. "I think I know where to find some candles." She began to inch her way through the kitchen, only for Ricky to pull her back. She rolled her eyes, despite knowing Ricky couldn't see the gesture. "What's that for?"

"I don't want you to walk into something."

"You don't even know where I'm going."

"Tell me."

Adrian rolled her tongue along the side of her mouth, enjoying the protective way in which her boyfriend wanted to look out for her, even within the safety of her own home. _"No,"_ she finally decided. "I think I know _my own house_ a little better than you." Without waiting for his counter argument, she tugged him along, running her hands out in front of herself until she'd found the hallway, then padded along it until she found came to the stairs.

In spite of her independence, Ricky placed his free hand to Adrian's hip as she stepped onto the stairs.

"Coming onto me in the dark on the stairs isn't that wise," she noted as she pressed the edge of her foot against the step and slid it up until she found the flat surface of the second step.

"I'm not coming onto you," he replied, his voice amused. "Though," he added huskily, "I could if you _want_ me to…"

"Then what _are_ you doing?" she asked, resisting the urge to accept his offer. She continued her carefully plotted, dragging footsteps.

"I don't intend to let you fall," he replied absentmindedly. "And if you do-"

"You'll break my fall?"

"Well look at it this way: at least you'll finally get to be on top."

"I should push you just for that," she laughed. Her fingers trailed along the polished handrail as she quickened her pace, slightly more confident in her strides until she reached the top and released a slow, pent up breath. Continuing to use her hands, she guided herself along the wall until she came to the master bedroom and wriggled the door handle.

"This isn't your room," Ricky noted.

"How do you know?"

"Because _I know_." He braced himself for the blow to his chest that he knew was coming and managed to laugh when the flat of her hand found his rippled abs, covered only by his white t-shirt. "Isn't this a little kinky?" he asked rhetorically, knowing that the only bedroom on the right side of the hall was the one that belonged to Adrian's parents.

"Shut up!" she growled, her voice deep and sexy. A faint filter of moonlight was moving in through the blinds, barely illuminating the bed which she seemed to be leading him to until she took a sharp turn and tugged him right along with her, dropping them both to their knees beside the bed. Still using one hand, she drew back the drawer at her mother's bedside and fumbled around. The aromas of cinnamon and vanilla permeated their nostrils as Adrian fumbled around, thumbing for the texture of wax beneath her fingers.

Ricky plunged his hand into the drawer alongside his girlfriend's, flirtatiously brushing her hand as she pulled out the bulky candles and set them up along the dresser.

"There should be a-"

"Lighter?" he asked, pulling his hand up from the drawer and illuminating his face with the spoken apparatus. "I figured as much." He held the lighter there, making his face glow an eerie campfire glow, before Adrian pinched the hand he was using to hold hers. With a mocking chuckle, he moved the lighter to the candles and lit the brunt wicks. "Looks like you're going to need more candles soon."

"They get a lot of use," the Latina agreed, her face slightly disturbed in the light of the flame. "Anyway," she segued, her brunette gaze focused on the burning wicks, "so the night's kind of ruined." She reclined her head against the side of her parents' bed in defeat. "If you want to go home, I won't mind," she exhaled.

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because we can't watch a movie and I'm not having sex with you-"

"Have you ever noticed that the dark is a lot more peaceful than the light?" He scooted along the floor until he was sitting right up against the bed, next to Adrian. "Ever taken a bath in the dark?"

"It's funny you say that. I used to do that when I was little. Well…until my mom caught me one time and completely flipped out and forbade me from ever doing it again. She thought I was going to fall asleep and drown."

Ricky nodded. "I used to too. There's something serene about the way you can hear water ripples in the dark."

Without thinking about it, Adrian inclined her head, resting it on Ricky's shoulder. "…Yeah."

"Have you ever gone camping?"

"I'm a majorette with a single mother. What do you think?"

"When I was younger, Margaret and Sanjay would take me and the younger kids out to the campgrounds. It was about a half a day's drive, but it was worth it. I was the oldest, so I always got my own tent and I just…I'd stay up long after the campfire burned out and I'd just listen to the sounds of the crickets and wildlife…"

"You never got scared?" At his scoff, she amended her statement. "I mean, at being alone in the dark in the middle of the wilderness?"

"The dark has always been a comfort to me," he explained. A certain tone in his voice revealed the subtext beneath the statement, but he didn't divulge and Adrian didn't ask him to.

"I used to try and make 'tents' out of blankets when I was younger," the Latina ventured. "I remember once when I was six and went to my great aunt's house for the weekend before my mom accepted her first international flight and I built this crazy 'tent' in her living room and stocked it with snacks and a flashlight and her giant poodle's dog bed." She placed her hand to her belly, giggling at the memory. "Honestly, I think they make those dog beds more comfortable than the ones they make for humans."

"And where'd the dog sleep?"

"With me," she grinned. "Just the two of us, all night long."

"Lucky dog."

"Hey, I have an idea," he announced, suddenly jumping up and pulling Adrian right along with him. He wrapped his hand around the cinnamon scented candle and towed his girlfriend out of the bedroom like a tugboat.

"Where are we going?" she questioned, slowly and deliberately. In the back of her mind, she knew he was leading her towards her bedroom. "Ricky," she cautioned, her voice almost teetering on annoyance. "I'm not-"

"Adrian." He halted in the doorway and gripped her hand a little tighter. "I know I've been joking all night and I know I haven't given you much reason to jump to any other conclusions, but just for the record: I'm not trying to have sex with you." A breath passed between them and then he gently tugged on her arm. "Trust me?"

"…Okay."

They walked with precision, in line like he did in marching band and she did during her routines with the majorettes. As they reached her bed, Ricky placed the candle on the dresser and pulled back the covers, then motioned his hand, waiting her Adrian to climb in.

Adrian bit her lip, resigning to her boyfriend's request for trust, and slid between the sheets to the other side, leaving enough room for Ricky. "So what's this bright idea?" she asked, realizing the irony of her words only after she'd spoken them.

Ricky kicked off his shoes and pushed his legs beneath the covers. Taking the edge of her comforter, he pulled it over their heads, blocking out a considerable amount of candlelight. Inching his head over, he laid it on Adrian's pillow, leaving only an inch or so between their faces.

She couldn't help but laugh. The look on his face was priceless. "Are you…really that jealous of…the-the dog?" she asked between laughing wheezes.

His arm found its way from his thigh to her stomach and he draped it protectively across her like a beauty queen's sash. His hand was at the side of her face. "I guess I am."

Adrian bit her tongue, holding back the noises she wanted to make as Ricky's thumb caressed her cheek and jaw. "I like this," she whispered, closing her eyes. There'd never been a time where she'd just had the chance to _cuddle_ with her boyfriend.

"I thought you might. You've always wanted me to spend the night, stay with you, just…just _lay_ with you." She rolled over beneath his arm, so that his hand ended up resting on her right shoulder. Taking that as his cue, he scooted closer to her and pressed his chest to her back, conforming himself to match the shape of her body. Ricky could feel his arm barely rising and falling along Adrian's chest. Under the dark, silent warmth of the comforter, he began to massage his fingers into her hair and he could feel her heartbeat beneath his palm. It was as if he was literally holding her heart in his hand.

Ricky wasn't sure how long they'd been laying there together, but the smell of cinnamon had become heavy in the air by the time the faint light he could see from behind the barrier of the comforter finally dissipated. He knew Adrian was fast asleep and he was nearly there himself he heard a faint pop and suddenly he could see light from the underside of the thick bedspread. Gently, he pulled back his arm causing Adrian to stir but thankfully, not awaken. He pushed back the bedspread and winced under the brightness of the lap. Cautiously, he swung out his arm and twisted the dial on the lamp creating two clicks before the light turned out, once again leaving them in darkness.

"Lights out, Adrian." With a tender smile, he pulled up the comforter again and wound himself back into place, molding like one entity with Adrian. He heard what sounded like a sigh; an unconscious exhalation of anxiety. He pressed his lips to the back of her head and kissed her softly before closing his eyes and finally falling into a slumber at her side.


End file.
